MORENO VALLEY: Discount grocer Aldi expanding to West Coast

This photo of a new Aldi in Katy, Texas, shows the wide array of fresh produce that the chain offers at discount prices. Aldi has more than 1,200 stores in 32 states. It has been opening 50 to 80 small-format stores annually since 2011.

With an eye on expansion in the West, discount grocer Aldi wants to open a regional headquarters in Moreno Valley and bring its no-frills stores to the Inland region.

The headquarters and warehouse complex is expected to create several hundred jobs.

City officials said Aldi wants to begin construction later this year on a 935,000-square-foot warehouse and office suite in West Ridge Industrial Park, a 60-acre parcel zoned for industrial use along the south side of Highway 60, west of Redlands Boulevard.

John Terell, interim community and economic development director, said in a June 11 briefing to the City Council that Aldi subsidiary AI California expects to invest $55 million to create the West Coast regional office and distribution center.

The city offered several incentives â" reduced fees and a long-term utility discount among them â" to persuade Aldi that Moreno Valley is the right place to establish a Southern California foothold.

âWe sold Aldi on the fact this was a city with aspirations,â Mayor Tom Owings said. âWe believe Aldi is a company with aspirations.â

The national chain based in the Chicago-area suburb of Batavia operates more than 1,200 low-priced grocery stores in 32 states, mostly from Kansas to the East Coast.

The stores are known for low prices on fresh produce, a âDouble Guaranteeââ for consumers and exclusive Aldi brands. The company, which has been rolling out 50 to 80 small-format stores annually since 2011, began to push west last year.

Nine stores opened in Houston in April 2013, the first of 30 Aldi wants to open in that metropolitan region by 2015.

A similar expansion strategy could play out here, officials said.

Terell said Aldi expects to employ a minimum of 200 people at the Moreno Valley facility it hopes to occupy next summer.

âThis will be a regional headquarters, so there will be a substantial office component in addition to warehousing,â Terell said. âThe proposed facility will also result in several hundred additional jobs related to delivery and other contract services.â

Owings said Aldi had expressed reservations about building in Moreno Valley soon after news broke about the grand jury probe into possible political corruption. Staff allayed concerns in a series of conference calls and in ongoing dialogue, he said.

âA first-class company has chosen this city, and they didnât do it because we had a second-class city staff,ââ Owings said.

Before the company agreed to finalize its land acquisition deal with Ridge Realty, a Long Beach-based real estate investment trust, Aldi asked the city to approve a memorandum of understanding, Terell said.

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